The path of life is individual to everyone, but outside influences can often alter the direction one takes. Society creates a generic path for one to walk based on cultural acceptances and beliefs, and many choose to stay on this path with little to no diverging paths, but some decide to branch off and formulate their own personal beliefs. Normally, a person’s formative beliefs are almost identical to their parents because they are raised in an environment that promotes those beliefs, but as they grow and they encounter different belief systems and ways of life, that person is forced to acknowledge that everything their parents may or may not be completely correct. In Chinua Achebe’s “Marriage is a Private Affair,” Achebe challenges long held
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Marriage ages, arranged vs. a choice, and more are reasons why it’s debated and usually the opinions depend heavily upon cultural beliefs. In Chinua Achebe’s “Marriage is a Private Affair,” Achebe addresses the changing views of marriage and how he chose to marry someone he loves rather than someone his father picked for him. Which, according to village elders, “has never been heard,” which in of itself is a powerful statement (Achebe 90). In the entire history of the Igbo nation, never once has a man stood against his father and said he would not follow through with the arranged marriage. Achebe is determined though, and he writes of himself “the young man’s heart was hardened, and his father eventually gave him up at last” (90). Achebe stood against his father to fight for his choice in the matters of his life, and won, but at the cost of his father’s love. Achebe believed in his right to make a choice and his love for Nene was strong enough that he stood up for his beliefs and fought the long held customs of his people. Though it was hard, not once did he lose hope that his father could change and see things his way, never once did he falter in his resolve. Despite the odds and people against him, Achebe never once faltered in his beliefs, even though it meant forsaking his people for a time. These were his principles that …show more content…
According to Zhang Zie in the seventies, people “still consider marriage the way they did millennia ago, as a means of continuing the race,” and interestingly enough, it would seem that much of that sentiment is still applicable today (101). If someone remarks that they will never marry, they are usually met with a response along the lines of, “you just haven’t met the right person yet,” but the implied necessity of marriage still lingers. For Zhang Zie in “Love Must Not Be Forgotten,” she recalls how through her life after the divorce of her parents, Zie’s mother never remarried and remained single for the rest of her days, which perplexed Zie to no end. Zie and her mother were extremely close, and Zie can remember many instances where her mother presented her priceless knowledge on how to live a happier life and Zie resolved to live by
Marriage ages, arranged vs. a choice, and more are reasons why it’s debated and usually the opinions depend heavily upon cultural beliefs. In Chinua Achebe’s “Marriage is a Private Affair,” Achebe addresses the changing views of marriage and how he chose to marry someone he loves rather than someone his father picked for him. Which, according to village elders, “has never been heard,” which in of itself is a powerful statement (Achebe 90). In the entire history of the Igbo nation, never once has a man stood against his father and said he would not follow through with the arranged marriage. Achebe is determined though, and he writes of himself “the young man’s heart was hardened, and his father eventually gave him up at last” (90). Achebe stood against his father to fight for his choice in the matters of his life, and won, but at the cost of his father’s love. Achebe believed in his right to make a choice and his love for Nene was strong enough that he stood up for his beliefs and fought the long held customs of his people. Though it was hard, not once did he lose hope that his father could change and see things his way, never once did he falter in his resolve. Despite the odds and people against him, Achebe never once faltered in his beliefs, even though it meant forsaking his people for a time. These were his principles that …show more content…
According to Zhang Zie in the seventies, people “still consider marriage the way they did millennia ago, as a means of continuing the race,” and interestingly enough, it would seem that much of that sentiment is still applicable today (101). If someone remarks that they will never marry, they are usually met with a response along the lines of, “you just haven’t met the right person yet,” but the implied necessity of marriage still lingers. For Zhang Zie in “Love Must Not Be Forgotten,” she recalls how through her life after the divorce of her parents, Zie’s mother never remarried and remained single for the rest of her days, which perplexed Zie to no end. Zie and her mother were extremely close, and Zie can remember many instances where her mother presented her priceless knowledge on how to live a happier life and Zie resolved to live by